Comprehensive ‘Florida First Step Act’ Excludes Registrants

“Tough on crime” laws imposed in the 1990s have increased Florida’s prison population by 29 percent in two decades. The state – with 96,313 inmates on July 1 – has the nation’s third-largest prison population. SB 642 addresses the sentencing of criminals and focuses on re-entry services to reduce crime, cut probation costs and create “a more efficient, effective criminal justice system,” Brandes said.

Brandes told Watchdog.org in December he will submit bills to address more than 100 mandatory minimum sentencing requirements in state law as one way to trim the prison population by about 10,000, to 86,000.

This bill would exclude registrants and violent offenders from gain-time benefits that are being extended to other inmates.

10 Comments

JZ
on February 4, 2019 at 10:57 pm

There seems to be some confusion on the interpretation of this bill. The first mention of “sexual offenders” concerns drug trafficking. [893.135(6)(a)] This is a red herring. How many of us who were convicted of sexual offenses were dabbling in drug trafficking?

The second mention of “sexual offenders” is about gain time [944.275(4)(f)]. Interestingly, the current 944.275(4)(e) stands without change or deletion:

“Notwithstanding subparagraph (b)3., for sentences imposed for offenses committed on or after October 1, 2014, the department may not grant incentive gain-time if the offense is a violation of s. 782.04(1)(a)2.c.; s. 787.01(3)(a)2. or 3.; s. 787.02(3)(a)2. or 3.; s. 794.011, excluding s. 794.011(10); s. 800.04; s. 825.1025; or s. 847.0135(5).”

944.275(4)(f) starts with “An inmate who is currently serving a sentence for or has been previously convicted of a dangerous crime as defined in s. 907.041” [which already includes Sexual battery; Lewd, lascivious, or indecent assault or act upon or in presence of a child under the age of 16 years; and Sexual activity with a child, who is 12 years of age or older but less than 18 years of age, by or at solicitation of person in familial or custodial authority]

Before I go any further, this is retroactive, thus after conviction, going by the stated language “currently serving a sentence for OR has been previously convicted.” How is this legal???

Moving on, (4)(f) further states:

“OR a violation specified as a predicate offense for registration as a sexual predator under s. 775.21 OR for registration as a sexual offender under s. 943.0435, is not eligible to earn or receive gain-time under paragraphs (a) through (d), OR any other type of gain-time in an amount THAT WOULD CAUSE a sentence to expire, end, or terminate, OR THAT WOULD RESULT in a prisoner’s release, prior to serving a minimum of 85 percent of the sentence imposed.”

So, as a layperson reading this, it seems to me that “sexual offenders” and “sexual predators” can still get gain time, UNLESS their offense is covered in 907.041 or 944.275(4)(f) AND they still serve 85% of their sentence.

I got gain time when they release you they put you on Conditional release for the gain time you earned. And when you violate it you go back into prison the time u did on the street don’t count. The reason a lot of Ex inmates stay in prison because of violations of Conditional release. You do more time then you was sentence too. If I had to go back on Conditional release I rather do my time back in prison. Judge gives you five years you get gain time earn 2 yrs you get C.R. then do 1 yr and 1/2 years on paper violate you end up doing 7 yrs total!!! [email protected] that!!

There is a underlying problems I haven’t seen addressed. We as registered citizens lack MAN|Y of society rights even in many situations we are indeed at a level less than an illegal alien yet we unlike an illegal alien still pay taxes. We in truth represent a class that has no real representation yet are required to pay taxes to a gov’t that mandates us not to be represented. That being the case a strong argument could be made that we should NOT pay taxes. They put us on a punitive list placing us and our families in harms way and are excluded from owning a firearm or CCW as protection for ourselves and our families…So we pay taxes for what????

So basically they are going to cut the sentences of those most likely to reoffend and act like jackasses in there. I did 5 the best people in prison with actual goals and were decent to hang out with were passion murderers, dui manslaughter, and SOs. I don’t care really but shows you this will only jamb back up the system as the county level and create jobs.

I didn’t see this article online and posted a copy of my letter to Senator Brandes in the article on the Arkansas legislator. I’ll repost my letter here to the senator:

Senator Brandes:

I am writing you because I recently saw where you are proposing the Florida First Step Act in an attempt to try and fix Florida’s extremely broken prison and criminal justice system. I should know about Florida’s awful prison conditions, I spent 3 years in a Florida prison, and am currently in the middle of a 7 year probation term. I am willing to talk to you personally about the conditions within the prison system from someone who had an up close and personal view of it from the inside. And I can tell you, it is extremely broken and is the closest thing to resembling a joke, if not one already. The current system only creates smarter criminals once they get out, and hardly any that are rehabilitated and ready to be integrated into society again. The prison budgets are increasing because of Gov. Scott’s previous efforts to pad his pockets with the healthcare contracts while more money was taken away from paying more officers and rehabilitation programs were cut throughout the state. I have friends who are currently in prison who I communicate with who tell me they literally have no treatment or rehab programs and that they have all been cut. Even the chaplains hours are getting cut at several institutions.
While I applaud your efforts at proposing reform, I would like to encourage you to take it a step further, even though it would be extremely unpopular. Another area where extreme reform is needed, is in the overly punitive and highly ineffective policies and laws regarding sexual offenders. Thanks to Sen. Lauren Book and her aggressive lobbyist father’s personal vendetta against his nanny, sexual offenders all over the state are getting released from prison and thanks to residency restrictions, cannot find places to live, let alone live with friends or family members who could help and support them, and literally thousands of them are homeless and having to live in the woods in tents, in Walmart parking lots, or under bridges. Duval County where I live was mentioned as having the highest number of homeless sexual offenders in the state. The residency restrictions cause more problems than they solve and are nothing more than “feel good legislation.” They need to be abolished.
Another area in need of reform is in the highly restrictive probation requirements that provide little flexibility and discretion on the part of the probation officers. It has been my observation that there is a high financial incentive to all involved to keep sex offenders on probation as long as possible, and even refuse to let them off probation when their term is up because the therapy programs are getting paid every week from the probationers and the polygraphers are getting hundreds of dollars every 6 months as well from each individual. Also, state probation prohibits us from leaving the county without permission, while those on federal probation have large districts of counties they can travel freely in. That to me makes more sense. I have a widowed mother who lives in one county away from me, and I cannot see her or help her without having to ask permission from my probation officer every time I want to go up there. My father suddenly passed away in Nov. 2017, and because I was confined to probation and could not travel freely, I had to pay $500 for a lawyer and get a court order just to be able to travel to South Carolina for my dad’s funeral because my probation officer couldn’t approve the travel herself. There needs to be an allowance for the probation officers to allow this type of overnight travel in these emergency situations. Another burden with these restrictions involves the kinds of jobs that are available for us to take. Because of travel restrictions and curfew requirements, I have had to avoid applying for certain jobs.
In addition to all of this, is the seemingly endless list of registration requirements that we have to navigate when we go to register every 3-6 months. It seems that each year, some legislator who is trying to make a name for themselves, proposed a bill to be “harder on sex offenders” for no other reason than to look tough on crime, tries to pass some additional requirement or make the ones already in place more onerous. It has gotten to the point that when I go to register, the sheriff’s office doesn’t seem to know the answers to registration questions when I ask them because there are so many, and they are getting complicated and confusing. Also, the need to register IN PERSON is quite a burden as well. There are certain things that require in person registration such as registering a vehicle and traveling out of the state, whereas other things can be registered on-line. My question is, why can’t EVERYTHING be registered on-line? It would certainly remove the added burden of having to take time off of work to register any changes that occur to our situation.
So as you can see Senator, the need for reform runs much deeper than just prison sentences and improving prison conditions. Along with what I just mentioned, the endless registration requirements for sex offenders is confusing and is nothing more than a trap to get people caught on technical violations, and once again, get sent back to prison for no less than 3 years. And as you so wisely stated, past legislations have created this mess for you, and I hope that you and your colleagues can fix it. I would love to speak more with you on this issue Senator if you’re so inclined. Thank you for your time. May God bless you in your extremely difficult effort to try and reform our broken criminal justice system here in Florida.

Just exactly does “This bill would exclude registrants and violent offenders from gain-time benefits that are being extended to other inmates.” mean in this context? When I was in I got gain time as anyone would and actually served the very minimum time because I earned and kept all of my gain time. Do registrant inmates no longer get any gain time? Or does this new legislation mean Florida is abandoning its 85% minimum ?

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